The S's of Prayer

The S’s
of Prayer

Lionel Hartley

Second Edition — Expanded and revised

The S’s of Prayer

Lionel D C Hartley

Published by L&R Hartley

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First Edition 1998.

Second edition, Copyright ©2001 Lionel Hartley.

All rights reserved in all countries. No part of this

book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Typeset in Times New Roman and illustrated by Lionel Hartley

Introduction to the Second Edition

trangely, The S’s of Prayer originally began as a list

of about a dozen words beginning with the letter ‘S’

to aid in the memorisation of a few important as

pects of prayer. But like many projects that I under-

take, I find it difficult knowing when to stop.
A limited edition of The S’s of Prayer was first published in
1998 with forty words which began with the letter “S” and was
so well received (except by a certain unnamed stutterer) that I
chose to revise and expand it. When I reached over two hun-
dred and seventy ‘S’ words, I figured that I ought to stop be-
fore the exercise became ridiculous and we lost the original
concept — and that is to learn that prayer is God’s chosen
medium for the development of our personal relationship with
Him.
I hope this list challenges you, teaches you, and maybe even
makes you smile.

Lionel Hartley, 2001

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This edition dedicated to Rosemary Hartley.

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Prayer should be:

1. Simple and Straightforward — talk to the Lord as you would
talk to your family.

You don’t have to be a Sage, Saint, Scholar, Seer, Seminar-
ian, Senator, Sergeant, Servant, Sheriff, Singer, Skate-
boarder, Sketcher, Skier, Slave, Socialite, Spaniard, Spouse,
Sprinter, Stentor, Steward, Stockbroker, Storekeeper, Sto-
ryteller, Surgeon, Surveyor, Swagman, or even Sagacious,
Skilful, Spiritual, Sporty, Spotless, Sprightly, Spruced-up,
Sthenic, or Studious.

Luke 11:9, 10 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given
you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto
you. / For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Matthew 6:9 Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of,
before ye ask him.

Prayer should be:
2. Spontaneous and Sapid (interesting).

John 15:4, 5, 7 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye,
except ye abide in me. /] am the vine, ye are the branches: He
that abideth in me, and | in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. /.../ If ye abide in me,
and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it

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shall be done unto you.

We can pray prepared prayers or pray in conversation. Mat-
thew 6:7, 8 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the
heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much
speaking. / Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father
knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Prayer can also be:
3. Scheduled or Systematic.

Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple
at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

Daniel 6:10 Daniel ... went into his house; and his windows
being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon
his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before
his God, as he did aforetime (emphasis mine).

In my book The Practice of Prayer (1987)* I listed the follow-
ing times of prayer as recorded in the Bible: Three times a day
— Daniel 6:10, Evening, Moming and Noonday — Psalm 55:7,
Seven times a day — Psalm 119:164, Morning — Mark 1:35,
At the Morning Watch — Psalm 63:6, At the Third Hour (of the
day) — Acts 2:15, At the Sixth Hour (of the day) — Acts 10:9,
At the Third Hour (of the day, the Hour of Prayer) — Acts 3:1,
At eventide — Genesis 24:63, At night — Psalm 134:1, and At
midnight — Psalm 119:62. Although early seekers make certain
finders, I guess the moral is summed up in the following refer-
ences: At all times — Ephesians 6:18, Always — Luke 18:1 and
Without ceasing — I Thessalonians 5:17, I Samuel 12:23

(*Now reprinted as A Prayer Resource Manual — available from this publisher)

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Prayer should be:

4. Slow and contemplative — Be slow to speak and quick to
hear.

Ecclesiastes 5:2, 3, 6, 7a Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not
thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in
heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. /
For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a
fool’s voice is known by multitude of words. /.../ Suffer not thy
mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the an-
gel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy
voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? / For in the multi-
tude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities...

Prayer should be:

5. Spoken, Silent (A single grateful thought toward heaven is
the most perfect prayer. — Lessing.), Seen or Secret (Secret
prayer is not a monologue, but a dialogue — John K Mott).

Matthew 6:5, 6 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the
hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues
and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. / But thou, when
thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

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Prayer should be:
7. Smile-filled, yet Serious and Sacred.

a) We need to be serious in our willingness to forgive others.

Matthew 6: 12, 14, 15 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive
our debtors./.../ For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heav-
enly Father will also forgive you: / But if ye forgive not men
their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

b) We need to be serious about praying, as the greatest tragedy
in regard to prayer is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.

c) We also need to be serious about our motives.

Jeremiah 29:12, 13 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go
and pray unto me, and J will hearken unto you. / And ye shall
seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your
heart.

Prayer should be:

8. Seeking and Searching — to know God’s will for our lives.
Philippians 4:6, 7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known unto God. / And the peace of God, which passeth

all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. (See also my book, How do I Know God's Will for my Life?)

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Prayer should be:
9. Surrendered and Sacrificial- willing to accept God’s will.

Matthew 26:39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face,
and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup
pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt (See
also Vs 42 & 44).

[God answers prayers Sunnum Bonum (Latin — What is for
our best good)]

Prayer should be:

10. Strong, Sincere & in faith, because prayer is Sanative
and Sanctifying.

Archbishop Joseph Bernardin (Leadership, Vol 3 #2) said, If
we are honest, we must admit that much of our time is spent
pretending. But when we turn to God in prayer, we must present
our real selves, candidly acknowledging our strengths and weak-
nesses and our total dependence on him.

Jeremiah 29:11-14a For I know the thoughts that I think toward
you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give
you an expected end. / Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall
go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. / And ye shall
seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your
heart. / And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will
turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the na-
tions.

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2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name,
shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn
from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will
forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Faith: James 1:5-7 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of
God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it
shall be given him. / But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the
wind and tossed. / For let not that man think that he shall receive
any thing of the Lord (emphasis mine).

Faith is the key to answered prayer,
And though faith’s small indeed,
A mountain can be moved by faith
Small as a mustard seed!
If you believe with all your heart,
What you believe will be;
And all your prayers will be answered
When true faith is the key. (Anon.)

Prayer should be:
11. Selfless, Sensible and Sane.

James 4:3, 7, 8 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss,
that ye may consume it upon your lusts. / Submit yourselves
therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. /
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your
hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

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Prayer shouid be:
12. Sedulous and Ste:dfast — patiently persevere with God.

In the previous quote we saw the folly of asking selfishly. The
verse immediately before it (James 4:2) shows the folly of not
even bothering to ask: Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire
to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not,
because ye ask not.

We need to persevere with God as He answers prayer with a Yes,
a No or a Not Yet and the Not Yet is in His time — Isaiah 49:8
Thus saith the LORD, Jn an acceptable time have I heard thee,
and in a day of salvation have | helped thee: and I will preserve
thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the
earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages.

This is illustrated in the story in Luke 18:1-8a And he spake a
parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray,
and not to faint; / Saying, There was in a city a judge, which
feared not God, neither regarded man: / And there was a widow
in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine
adversary. / And he would not for a while: but afterward he said
within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; / Yet
because this widow troubleth me, I[ will avenge her, lest by her
continual coming she weary me. / And the Lord said, Hear what
the unjust judge saith. / And shall not God avenge his own elect,
which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with
them? /I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.

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We need also to be patient — Psalm 37:7-9 Rest in the LORD,
and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who
prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked
devices to pass. / Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not
thyself in any wise to do evil. / For evildoers shall be cut off:
but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

Prayer should be:

13. Scriptural.

2 Timothy 3:15-17 And that from a child thou hast known the
holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus. / All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness: / That the man
of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Proverbs 28:9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the
law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

Prayer should be:

14. Significant and under the Saviour’s Signature — prayer
needs to be in the Son’s name.

John 14:13, 14 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that
will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. / If ye shall
ask any thing in my name, | will do it (emphases mine).

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Acts 4:10-12 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of
Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye
crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth
this man stand here before you whole. / This is the stone which
was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of
the corner. / Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is
none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved (emphases mine).

Acts 9:26-29a And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he as-
sayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of
him, and believed not that he was a disciple. / But Barnabas
took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto
them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had
spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus
in the name of Jesus. / And he was with them coming in and
going out at Jerusalem. / And he spake boldly in the name of
the Lord Jesus.

Prayer should be:
15. Specific and Shaped to Size.

Luke 12:11, 12 12:11... take ye no thought how or what thing
ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: / For the Holy Ghost shall

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teach you in the

Prayer should be:
16. Spirit controlled and Sacrosanct.

Romans 8:4, 5, 14 ... walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit. / For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the
flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. /
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God.

Prayer should be:
17. Sympathetic and Stretched Sideways — pray for others.

Corrie Ten Boom said, How little we realise the importance of
intercessory prayer. If at this moment you pray for someone else,
even though he is on the other side of the globe, the Lord Jesus
will touch him.

Matthew 5:44 — 48 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou
shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. / But I say unto
you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use
you, and persecute you; / That ye may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the
evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the

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unjust. / For if ye love them which love you, what reward have
ye? do not cven the publicans the same? / And if ye salute your
brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the
publicans so? / Be ye therefore perfect (mature), even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect (emphasis and annotation
mine).

Job 42:10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he
prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much
as he had before (emphasis mine).

Prayer should be:
18. Shared — pray with others.

Heb 10:24, 25 And let us consider one another to provoke unto
love and to good works: / Not forsaking the assembling of our-
selves togetier, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one
another: anc so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Matt 18:19, 2018:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you
shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it
shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. / For
where two or three are gathered together in my name, ‘here am I
in the midst of them.

Psalm 111:1 ... I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in
the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

Isaiah 56:7 Even them will I bring (together) to my holy moun-

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tain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt
offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar;
for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people
(notation and emphases mine).

Prayer should be:
19. Savoured and Sabbatical.

Psalm 37:4, 5 Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall
give thee the desires of thine heart. / Commit thy way unto the
LORD, trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Isaiah 58:13, 14 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath,
from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a
delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honor him,
not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor
speaking thine own words: / Then shalt thou delight thyself in
the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of
the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for
the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Thomas Brooks said, The best and sweetest flowers of paradise
God gives to His people when they are upon their knees. Prayer
is the gate of heaven.

And finally,

20. God will still accept the prayer that is Short, Sad, Sub-
standard, Scrawled, Scribbled, Scruffy, Sorrowful, Suppli-

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cating, Spooky, Scary, Spine-ciilling, Sheepish, Stumbled,
Stammered, Stu‘tered, Scre::ined, Squealed, Shrieked,
Screeched, Shout«d, Squawkec, Spoken, Sighed, Sentimen-
tal, Sequential or scrambled, Senseless or Sequacious, Sen-
sitive, Scrawny, stilted, Sudden, Slow, Straggly, Serene,
or Struggled.

God listens even if you’re Scarred or Scared, Sighted, Spec-
tacled, Staring, Squinting, or Sightless, Shabby or Smart,
Short or Stout, Shivering, Shuddering, or Shocked, Stag-
gering, Strolling, Slipping, Sliding, Standing, Supine, Sed-
entary, Squattin:, Squashed, or Seated, Severed, Sepa-
rated, Solitary, Secluded under Security Surveillance Sen-
tries or Surrounded in Sweaty Starving Squalor, Sick, Suf-
fering, or even if you are sadly scathingly said to be a Strange
Shy Strengthless, Shuffling Sleepy Silver-haired Speech-
less Senile Simpleton or his or her Stilted Sibling.

God will hear the confession of the Swearing Stained Shop-
lifter, Stealthy Shrewd Sleazy Shyster, Shirking Sponger,
Stubborn Stinking Stirrer, Suspected Striking Stalking
Stranger Strangler or Suspicious Stealing Sinner, and God
will even accept as sincere suitable sensible spoken statements
the contrition of a Strutting Streetwise Shamed Stigmatised
Scandalised Spicy Spell-binding Sultry Scarlet Slut or a
Saucy Sensuous Sexy Stripper.

Romans 8:26-28 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmi-
ties: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but
the Spirit itself makcth intercession for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered. / And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth
what is the mind ot the Spirit, because he maketh intercession

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for the saints according to the will of God. / And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose.

But He surely wonders about (yet may still answer) the prayer
that is Saccharine, Sacrilegious, Sadistic, Salacious, Sanc-
timonious, Sanguinary, Sarcastic, Sassy, Satanic, Saucy,
Scandalous, Scanty, Scarce, Scathing, Sceptical,
Schadenfreude (maliciously enjoying another’s misfor-
tunes), Schismatic, Scolding, Scowling, Scrappy, Seasonal,
Seditious, Seductive, Seething, Segregative, Self-abasing,
Self-aggrandising, Self-approbating, Self-centred, Self-con-
ceited, Self-congratulatory, Selfish, Self-opinionated, Sen-
sational, Sensual, Sententious, Serious, Set, Shallow, Shifty,
Silly, Skimped, Skiting, Smug, Solemn, Sparse, Spasmodic,
Speculative, Sped, Speechified, Spiteful, Stagnant, Staid,
Standardised, Static, Stereotyped, Stipulating, Stodgy,
Stroppy, too Structured, Stubborn, Stultifying, Stupid, Sub-
versive, Suggestive, Sulking, Sullen, Superfluous, Surly,
Surmising, Surreptitious, Suspicious, Swanky, or Syco-
phantic.

Straightforward, Spontaneous, Sapid, Scheduled, Sys

tematic, Slow and contemplative, Spoken or Silent,
Seen or Secret, Solid, Sin-forsaken, Smile-filled yet Seri-
ous, Sacred, Seeking, Searching, Surrendered, Sacrificial,
Strong, Sincere, Sanative, Sanctifying, Selfless, Sensible,
Sane, Sedulous, Steadfast, Scriptural, Significant, Under
His Signature, Specific, Shaped to Size, Spirit controlled,

S o then, in summary, may your prayers then be Simple,

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Sacrosanct, Sympathetic, Stretched Sideways, Shared,
Savoured, Sabbatical, and Satisfying.

. nin L&R Leia Publishers

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